As a consequence, upregulation of USP9X due to ARID1A inactivation reduces the ubiquitination-associated protein degradation, stabilizes AMPKα2 and thus activates AMPK signaling, a key energy sensing pathway that reprograms multiple metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis, lipid metabolism, and antioxidant production, to provide a growth advantage to HCC cells under the glucose-deprived condition. Here, PRKAA2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.